Digital Currency and Blockchain Weekly Round-up – August 24th, 2018

FINRA’s ICO warning: Investing in SAFT contract does not ensure the offering’s regulatory compliance

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has issued a warning against investments in digital assets, such as initial coin offering (ICO) tokens and cryptocurrencies. “Know that investing in a SAFT contract does not mean the offering is "safe" or compliant with applicable federal and state laws,” FINRA emphasized.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection to trial blockchain technology

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is going to test blockchain potential in verifying North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) certificates, American Shipper reported.

UK Ministry of Justice explores DLT potential to secure digital evidence

The U.K. Ministry of Justice is exploring how it can use blockchain technology to secure digital evidence, CoinDesk reported. Deputy director Balaji Anbil said that the objective is to use the technology to simplify court processes for handling digital evidence.

Anquan, Deloitte and Nasdaq join MAS and SGX for blockchain-based settlement of tokenised assets

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Singapore Exchange (SGX) have announced that they are partnering with Anquan, Deloitte and Nasdaq for the settlement of tokenized assets using blockchain technology. The companies will leverage the open-source software developed and made publicly available in Project Ubin Phase 2.

Bank of Thailand taps R3’s Corda DLT platform for wholesale central bank digital currency

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has announced that it is developing a wholesale central bank digital currency (wholesale CBDC) using R3’s Corda platform. The central bank has officially unveiled “Project Inthanon” aimed at exploring the implications and the potential benefits of distributed ledger technology (DLT) to enhance efficiency of the Thai financial market infrastructure.

Blockchain Law Society set to debut in South Korea

South Korean blockchain experts have announced plans to launch the Blockchain Law Society to study the legal issues surrounding this emerging technology, Yonhap News reported. It will focus on various legal aspects related to blockchain technology as well as blockchain-related legislation.

South Korea's National Assembly to discuss blockchain, cryptocurrencies and ICOs during extraordinary session

The extraordinary session will see discussions on the measures that should be taken to encourage blockchain and cryptocurrency industry in South Korea as well as formulating guidelines on initial coin offerings (ICOs), Business Korea reported. Standing committees and political parties will also discuss the proposal to designate Jeju Island as a special zone for blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

Chinese regulators look to block 124 foreign crypto exchanges amid wider crackdown

Referring to a report from Shanghai Securities Times, CoinDesk reported that the China National Fintech Risk Rectification Office, a government agency tackling financial risks in areas such as p2p lending and cryptocurrency trading, has identified 124 trading platforms with overseas IP addresses and is looking to block these platforms.

Kenya mulls to tap blockchain technology for elections

Kenya’s electoral agency is seeking to tap into blockchain potential to offer real-time results, according to Bloomberg. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati told the media house that the agency was considering using distributed-ledger technology (DLT) to improve transparency and enable secure access to results. The move comes as part of the agency’s efforts to enhance the integrity of voting.

Funding/Investment/Acquisition

Blockchain marketing startup Atlas Protocol raises $3M in new funding led by Softbank China Capital

Bitmain invests in blockchain data storage startup Lambda

Softbank, Tencent refute reports on investment deal with bitcoin mining giant Bitmain

Consortiums

Leading cryptocurrency exchanges join Virtual Commodity Association Working Group

RiskBlock Alliance picks EY as blockchain security and risk services provider

Universal Protocol Alliance: Blockchain at Berkeley, Uphold, Brave, and Cred team up to enable interoperability of digital assets

Crypto and Blockchain Initiatives

Stockholm IT Ventures (SVAB) joint ventures with German Bank to deal in Crypto-Fund

World Bank to settle A$100M blockchain bond this month

National Research Council of Canada launches Ethereum blockchain explorer

Privacy-focused blockchain platform ZenCash announces new brand “Horizen”

Four telecom giants team up to trial blockchain

New partnership to allow Aussies pay household bills with cryptocurrencies

UAE-based ADAB Solutions announces First Islamic Crypto Exchange (FICE)

eToro to pay for partnership deals with seven football clubs in bitcoin

Italian Retail Association Confimprese partners with blockchain loyalty startup qiibee

MetLife trials blockchain-based automated health insurance solution

Shanghai Stock Exchange and insurance industry players partner to tap blockchain potential

Hyundai-backed Hdac Technology signs MOU with blockchain real estate startup DREAMChain

South Korea’s Chuncheon city partners with blockchain startup Swytch to reduce carbon footprint

Liechtenstein’s Union Bank AG seeks to become one-stop crypto and blockchain solution provider, to issue security tokens and stable coin